TAXILA: Bahar Hussain Shah, 42, lives with elderly parents and four other family members in a two-room house. He has not worked since March, when the asphalt plant in Thatta Khalil was shut down. He says he is struggling to feed his family.

Mr Shah’s story is common to almost all the homes in Thatta Khalil, a locality at the foot of the Margalla Hills near the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway. He told Dawn that since the stone crushing units in the hills closed down, he has spent his savings on utility bills, medicines for his parents and food for his family. Now, with his savings running out, he said they are facing starvation.

“This is not the story of one man or a single family, but around 200 families living in the Thatta Khalil union council. All the residents are associated with the nearby Margalla Hills, as unskilled or skilled labourers such as shawl operators, dumper drivers, electricians, plant operators and even mechanics,” said local social worker Nasir Mehmood.

Zakat Committee Chairman Ghulam Hussain said that Thatta Khalil’s people have been working in the hulls for generations. Their financial stability collapsed when the stone crushing units they worked in closed in March, and as other industries and business activities halted soon after due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are being approached by families in the area who, in the past, were contributing Zakat for other people but have now become Zakat seekers,” Mr Hussain said.

Saeed Siddiqui, another social worker, said that in addition to the 2,000 workers associated with the stone crushing industry who have suffered, more than 3,000 people indirectly associated with the industry - such as dumpers, truckers, vehicle mechanics, workshop owners, hotel owners and daily-wage workers - have lost their jobs and are facing starvation as businesses and business activities are practically suspended because of the pandemic.

Dumper Association Chairman Haji Rafeeq Khan said that more than 4,000 dumpers, trucks and trailers are part of the association in Taxila, which provides crushed stones across the country. Because of the suspension of stone crushing in the Margallas, around 4,000 families have been affected, he said.

The utilisation of these vehicles is now minimal as other activities, including the transport of goods, is at its lowest, he said.

“I purchased two dumpers through bank leases and have been paying the instalments of Rs1 million a month by arranging money from friends and family for the last three months as there have not been any quarrying activities in the Margalla Hills since March,” Gul Nawaz Abbasi said.

He added that if there are no business activities for the next few months, his finances would collapse and the vehicles will be confiscated by their respective banks. He said that everyone knows that there is a recession in goods transport and so no one is interested in purchasing the vehicles from him.

Stone Crushers Association Chairman Asif Gondal said almost 5,000 families are heading towards financial collapse and starvation ever since the Supreme Court banned quarrying in the hills in a case regarding the protection of the national park in Islamabad in March, after which government departments also closed stone crushers in the limits of the Rawalpindi district.

He said that around 70 stone crushing units in Taxila have been established on 51 blocks, leased by the Punjab Mines and Minerals Department and endorsed by the environment department through the issuance of no-objection certificates. He said these blocks are not part of Islamabad Capital Territory or the national park, but had been shut down since March.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2020